I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History – Episode 1

What’s it about? Alicia loves playing villainess characters in otome games.  She’s always admired how bold and strong they are in comparison to the extremely kind nature of heroines.  That’s why it was a dream come true for Alicia when she reincarnated as a villainess, and she vows to become the greatest one her new world has ever seen.

The title to the series is quite a bold statement, especially since I know my girl, Aria from The Villainess Turns the Hourglass, would wipe the floor with Alicia in a heartbeat.  I have mixed feelings about the oversaturation of villainess stories—while it’s great that most of them want to defy the “evil villainess” trope and clear their names, I’m personally far more interested in characters that own up to their villainess roles.  One of the reasons Aria is a great protagonist is because she actually isn’t afraid to play dirty and actively plot the downfall of the people who wronged her in the previous timeline.  In short, Aria is the sort of morally gray character that most folks are supposedly craving to see more of in fiction, BUT in practice, it seems like most folks just aren’t ready to support women’s wrongs.  

While it’s refreshing that Alicia actually wants to be a villainess, it’s clear that she’s more interested in the bold and confident aura that villainesses typically exude rather than actually doing terrible things to other people.  It wouldn’t surprise me if she accidentally ends up stealing the heroine’s role under the oblivious assumption she’s being “bad.”  Basically, it’s clear that Alicia is a sweet girl that wouldn’t harm a fly and is determined to be seen as someone admired for her intelligence and strength.  To some extent, it’s clear the mechanics of her new world favors her a lot. How else do you explain the king asking a mere eight year old for her opinion on politics? 

Aside from Alicia’s antics, the episode basically rehashes familiar tropes and doesn’t really add anything new to the genre.  Since Alicia is such an energetic character, I sort of wish she dedicated her time to being a chaotically evil person that loves to troll everyone around her.  That alone sounds like a good time and would’ve been tons of fun to watch.  Unfortunately for her, she catches the attention of all the teenage male leads, which is unsettling when it’s extremely obvious the crown prince visits Alicia’s home just to see her.  Age gap romances are tricky stories to navigate since the power imbalance can absolutely lead to exploitation and abuse.  There’s definitely no indication that the series will deeply examine that aspect, but it’s important to address that it exists and that it might be a deal breaker to some of our readers.  

The animation is bright and lively thanks to Alicia’s vibrant personality, but it’s truly tragic that not even this series could escape the CG horses.  While I don’t think the show is going to shake anyone’s world, if you are looking for a comedy villainess show to watch this season, then this might be right up your alley.  

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